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Why do YOU love Vinyl/or hate vinyl

I just responded to the thread on how many sources do you have ( shotgunning tonight) and got me wondering why I love vinyl so much? Have a very good digital side on both my main system and my headphone system as well that was set up for Redbook playback (headphone system) only utilising my vast 1,000 CD collection, enjoyed it for about a year, added a turntable and haven't used it since. My love of vinyl has been with me for 55 years, buying and playing, setting up my tables , matching preamps and enjoying the fruit of my labor. I believe my love of vinyl is a simple one, it stemmed from the hands on, need to tinker and adjust that I was born with, it's a very physical attraction that I just can not resist, it satisfies a lot of needs for me and in some way is that mistress that I maintain. My turntable is massive and so easy to look at, I can touch it and get more out of it, I can read about the artist and get info while I listen to an album, I can swap out a cartridge and change the tone and in the day the album covers served as a rolling tray to roll a joint. I love vinyl, but absolutely understand while others don't. I also envy people like uberwaltz that have and use so many sources, wish I could. What say you?
tooblue
johnread57's avatar
johnread57
250 posts
 
Didn't read what came earlier...as yet.
Just a quick note.
I like the naturalness, the freely dynamic sound. Unrestrained.
I don't like the clicks and pops, the fragility, the set up, the damage to vinyl, the sixteen ways it can go wrong.
My TT15S1 has been off line for one year because the stylus broke. I bought a replacement cartridge that sounded nicer, more open. But I simply haven't used the TT or connected it back up since then. I somewhat dread its use, as a difficult inconvenient medium.
I envy others who have mastered it.
johnread57's avatar
johnread57
250 posts
 
@audioman58 nice story about Lampi...what model do you use? Recently I read the entire Lampi postings on WBF. Anyway just a quick inquiry and you can PM me if you want so we don't sidetrack this post.
mambacfa
110 posts
 
It's all about the sound; analogue sounds better (i.e. more realistic) than digitized music. Sound is inherently analogue; it's physical. Only in Star Trek does a physical thing get digitized (converted) in one place and then reappear (converted again) without changing its essence. 

The appeal of digital is its low cost and convenience. Its sound quality has improved, but in a side-by-side comparison, digital always loses to a good-quality vinyl setup. 
jssmith
342 posts
 
I dislike:
  • snap, crackle, pop, hiss
  • the inconvenience of the manual process
  • space hogs
  • the expense
  • the degradation
I like:
  • nothing about them

Having started my "audiophile" hobby when there was nothing serious but vinyl, I just don't get the vinyl nostalgia. I dumped mine as soon as possible. Maybe it's my nature as a software engineer to always look forward, but I can think of nothing of a mechanical or electrical nature, that was better performance-wise in the "old days". I collect vintage things as art, but I don't "use" them. I use new technology because it makes life easier and it's almost always better from a performance perspective. My whole collection fits on a flash drive. I can stream by voice command. To me, vinyl is like watching TV without a remote control. Heck, I even talk to my TV now. No remote needed.
uberwaltz's avatar
uberwaltz
13,381 posts
 
rbstehno

Sorry my memory aint what it used to be, sure you mentioned that before but now you are bringing another variable into the mix, that of cost.

Sure recording onto reel on good quality tape at 7.5ips minimum is not cheap but I had not even thought about or factored in cost.
Heck if I start thinking about cost I must as well just sling a rope up over the rafters and be done with it all..... lol.
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